Villian
by Crystal
Summary: Follows "Welcome Back" and "Promises, Promises." During the setting of Batman Beyond, Barbara Gordon's life is disrupted once again.
1. A Night Like This...

TITLE: 

TITLE: Villian

Chapter One: A Night Like This…

AUTHOR'S NOTE: The Final Part in my trilogy of Babs/Dick stories. This follows "Welcome Back" and "Promises, Promises." I meant to get this done earlier, but real life got in the way. Sorry… thanks for the wait and I hope you enjoy.

THE STORY SO FAR: After Bruce Wayne was sent to the hospital after a heart attack, Barbara Gordon and Dick Grayson reunited after many years of estrangement. Almost two years after this, with the entire "family" now on speaking terms once again, Dick surprised Barbara on their anniversary by proposing marriage. Unfortunately, while trying to find her mother's old wedding dress, Dick stormed out after uncovering the secret affair between Bruce and Barbara years earlier. While trying to find Dick, Barbara uncovered his little secret as well… the fact that, although he promised that he would hang up the cape, he not only continued crime fighting, but also continued wearing the mantle of the bat. She confronted him, and uneasily told him that she never wanted to see him again. He left that night, returning to Bludhaven, where Barbara hadn't heard from him since. 

In the meantime, Barbara Gordon met a young District Attorney named Sam Young, and eventually married him. She has taken over her father's position as Police Commissioner. Recently, a new caped crusader has come onto the scene, an employee of Bruce's named Terry McGinnis.

TIME: Batman Beyond Time Frame, or roughly 18 years after "Promises, Promises" and 20 after "Welcome Back"

DISCLAIMER: I don't own these characters… I'm just a poor college student. Please don't sue me.

"It's a deal with the devil, Barbara… a deal with the devil, but it's necessary."

James Gordon's words haunted Commissioner Barbara Gordon as she sat in her office late one night sorting out internal affairs papers. This was one of those nights when she thought she could practically hear him rolling over in his grave. One of the largest IA nightmares had just gone down; a group of 4 police officers in league with some of the wardens and doctors over at New Arkham. New Arkham's cells were filled to the brim, and they had schemed to release patients early, allowing more room for others. Tampering files, changing records… it was all out, and it looked horrible for the Gotham City Police Department, already known as one of the most corrupt departments in recent history. Not that Arkham was all that clean itself. Once, Arkham Asylum was a place for rehabilitation of criminals, notorious for holding some of the most insane, depraved villains ever to walk the street. Two-Face, Penguin, Catwoman, Poison Ivy, Bane… The Joker. The list went on and on. And whether they would be released, or sometimes breakout of the supposedly Maximum-Security prison, they would always end up back on the streets. At least that part hadn't changed. Now, however, Arkham was just plain over-crowded, with not enough cells and not enough doctors to treat the patients there. 

As she scanned the IA reports, she thought back to when her father was commissioner. He would come home, griping about the crooked cops and "that damn bat," but she never truly realized how bad it was until she became Commissioner. And she had no "damn bat." A year before she was elected to her position, Batman had mysteriously stopped working. She was one of the only people who noticed the coincidence that at the same time as Batman seemingly retired, Bruce Wayne also started to fade away from his company. In press reports, Dr. Leslie had attributed his disappearance from the public as a small stroke, which, neatly, also covered up for the time Bruce had spent in the hospital undergoing Leslie's psychiatric evaluation that had, in actuality, been what caused Batman to shy away from the scene. Barbara put two and two together, but deep down inside, she had to admit that she was glad when Bruce had put up the cape and cowl. She had seen him in action shortly before that, and the truth was, he was getting sloppy. His age was starting to show, not only on his face, but in his fighting, as well. Frankly, she was soon expecting the day when one criminal could boast, "I killed the Bat."

The next year when Barbara was elected Commissioner, she made an astounding declaration. "I am not my father," she decided and announced to the police force. "So, don't expect me to be." And in her first press conference, she announced to the general public the same sentiment. "The days of masked vigilantes are over. This city does not need a Batman cowering in the shadows anymore." 

When she arrived home that night, Sam handed her a letter. "Someone came and dropped this off for you. I think they said they worked for Mr. Wayne."

Barbara frowned and took the letter. She had never really told Sam much about her relationship to Bruce Wayne, other than what he knew from papers and gossip. He wasn't from Gotham, but he went to Law School at Gotham City University, so he did know that Bruce was a friend of Barbara's father. And she assumed that he had at least heard the rumors of their involvement, though he had never brought the subject up. All she had basically told him was that they once were good friends, and they had a falling out and hadn't spoken since. He understood not to press her for more information. 

Barbara took the letter and went into the small den to read it. It was short and simple… just Bruce's style.

Barbara,

Nice speech.

Best of luck as Commissioner.

- Bruce.

To the average person, she gathered, the letter might simply look like an old friend wishing congratulations to her. Hell, it may have even looked like a plea for reconciliation. But Barbara knew him better. Her speech had stung him deeply, and whereas he would occasionally try to contact her… find out how she was doing in the years since Dick had left her, after that speech he stopped doing that.

She often thought of him on nights like this. Nights when she sat embroiled in paper work and looked out the window only to see that flash of black across the night sky. Bruce's new Batman… that McGinnis boy. She now understood what her father had known. The city needed a Batman. Sometimes she wondered why, though. During the years between Bruce's shooting and McGinnis wearing the suit, there had been no Jokers… no Penguins… no Scarecrows. Yeah, simple petty crimes and muggings and such rose but there wasn't a homicidal maniac trying to destroy the whole city every week. It was almost like having a Batman was a magnet for these psychopaths. Blight… Spellbinder… Shriek… Inque. New versions of the same old story. But McGinnis did keep them in line. 

She now truly realized that her father was right. Batman was a necessary evil.

Terry McGinnis sat atop a skyscraper looking downward at Gotham. _Wow,_ he thought. _What was my life like a year ago? Was I really just a normal kid whose biggest problem was trying to wear the right clothes to class? And now I'm the Batman. And nobody knows. No one would suspect that that annoying, arrogant creep Terry McGinnis is _the_ Batman. _

Batman looked downward and scanned the streets for any activity. Word was the Royal Flush Gang was going to be making an appearance tonight. And he never missed a reunion. His ear faintly registered the police scanner squawking in his ear, only listening for words to indicate that the gang was out and about. As his eyes continued to look out at the night sky, words jumped out at him from the police frequency.

"…. Bank at Third and Robinson…. Armed and armored, it seems… One of those suited freaks…"

_Just my style… a suited freak,_ Batman thought with a smile as the Batjet careened overhead and flew him to Third and Robinson. 

When Batman arrived at the scene, the suited menace had holed himself up in the bank. 

"You will _not_ take me down until I have attended to my business here in Gotham!"

_Business? _Batman thought. _Who was this guy?_ Batman spoke into the mike that was part of his Batsuit. "You getting this?"

The voice of Bruce Wayne came through the earphone. "Yes… I don't recognize the costume, but it sounds like he's from out of town anyway. I'll start looking into Metropolis Police Files."

"You _police!_" The suit yelled. "You inept police who think you're doing something good for the world! You don't know your ass from a hole in the ground and you wouldn't know a real villain if he stood among you! You call me Vengeance… for I am Vengeance for the wrongs that you all do."

_Yeah, that's enough of that hot air,_ Batman thought as he shot a boomerang through the window to the back and followed it, kicking Vengeance (if that was what this guy wanted to be called) square in the chest, knocking him backwards. Vengeance rolled back up and gazed at Batman. 

"Another one of them… and you are the Bat… do you also seek vengeance for a wrong?"

Batman shook his head. "You're mistaken buster. I'm the only one around here."

As he said this, a figure came out from the side and knocked Batman to the ground. "Stay down!" the figure harshly whispered. 

Batman looked up and saw the figure attack Vengeance. His fighting style was good, Batman noticed. Similar to what Bruce had taught him. And yet, different… more… lively. Batman got back to his feet and charged Vengeance as well, throwing off this second figure. After a struggle, Vengeance managed to reach on of the higher up windows and escape, but not before yelling down one last time. "Go home, Nightwing… this is not your home."

The figure stood… watching Vengeance escape before pushing Batman up against the wall. "I told you to stay down!"

Batman pushed the stranger off. Vengeance had called out to Nightwing… was this figure Nightwing? "I don't know who the hell you are, but I don't take orders from you."

The figure bent down into his face. "You should, because I know more about this job than you'll ever know. Stay out of my way next time." The figure started walking away, but turned around. "Oh, and by the way… nice suit, kid. Just don't go thinking that you're the Bat... cause you're not the Bat… and you never will be."

The figure used something much like a grappling hook and disappeared through a hole in the ceiling, as Batman stood there speechless.

"… and then he said 'and you'll never be the Bat.' I mean… who does this guy think he is?"

Ever since Terry had arrived back at the Batcave, he had been talking nonstop of the second figure he had encountered tonight. 

"That Vengeance person called the guy Nightwing, I think… or something like that." 

Bruce, at the computer, nodded. "Yes… Nightwing. Our friends are from Bludhaven, about an hour up the coast. Vengeance is a pretty new addition to their menagerie up there, but I'll try to get some information on him. I don't know why they're down here. You should go get sleep now… tomorrow's a schoolday."

Terry narrowed his eyes at Bruce. The old man had never been concerned about keeping him up late on a school night before. Why start now? Bruce had kept his eyes glued to the screen the entire time, not even glancing up at Terry. He knew something. Terry didn't know what… but he knew something.

The next day, the police officers of the GCPD gathered around the television watching the mid day news report.

"A new masked criminal, apparently calling himself 'Vengeance,' arrived upon the scene here in Gotham last night. No one knows where this masked vigilante came from, but he was accompanied by another masked figure. Cameras at the scene managed to get this glimpse at the newst additions to Gotham's directory of…"

The television snapped off as Barbara Gordon walked up behind one of the officers and grabbed the remote. "Don't we have some work to be getting done, gentlemen? Some crime out there to be stopping?"

The officers dispersed and mumbled under their breaths. "Why should we do it when we got costumed freaks out there doing it for us?" she heard one of them ask under her breath. 

Barbara sighed and walked into her office. _Don't think it's a question I haven't asked myself, Santoro._ As she sat down at her desk, her husband, District Attorney Sam Young, walked in and sat down. She looked up at him quizzically. "What are you doing here?"

He smiled and chuckled jovially. One of the traits about his wife he had grown to love was the fact that she had no memory for dates when she was under stress. And she absolutely refused to use one of those old fashioned day planner things, no matter how much he insisted that it would help manage her busy schedule some. "Thursday? Lunch date?"

She closed her eyes and groaned. "Sam… I completely…"

"Forgot." Sam finished for her with another kind smile.

She nodded. "Yeah… and I can't get away from the office today. You saw the news… I've got two new faces to deal with…" she sighed. "I'm sorry, hun."

He stood and walked over to her, giving her and kiss and a hug. "It's okay… you get your work done. But some guys in jail for me," he said as he walked out.

She smiled as he left, but her smile quickly returned to a frown as her mind returned to where it previously had been. Even if she had gone to lunch, she wouldn't have been good company. There was simply too much on her mind today. 

Barbara saw the news that morning and the pictures she had seen had disturbed her. It wasn't the clear ineptitude of the cops on duty that disturbed her. Nor was it this Vengeance person, nor the fact that they got away. It was the other person. Barbara recognized the metallic black and blue of the costume… or at least… she _thought_ she did. _But it couldn't be… it just couldn't. Why would he come back here?_ On her computer, Barbara brought up the Bludhaven police records. Finding a still shot of Vengeance from the news stations, she managed to match the descriptions and discover that her hunch was right… there was a visitor in Gotham. Going back to the still shots, she found one of the second visitor to Gotham City and blew the picture up. Barbara bit her bottom lip and leaned back in her chair, staring at the picture on her computer screen.

She stared at the picture for a good fifteen minutes.

That son of a bitch. I thought he'd never have the balls to show his face here again… not after what he did last time. 

The black and blue suit should have been a dead giveaway, but Barbara convinced herself that many other crimefighters chasing criminals from Bludhaven wore black and blue suits. What convinced her was the face.

Even covered by the mask, darkened around the eyes and aged almost twenty years she still recognized that face… those eyes.

Nightwing was in town…

Dick Grayson was back in her life.


	2. Revelations

Villian

Villain

Chapter Two: Revelations

The car Barbara Gordon was driving turned a sharp corner as she looked at her surroundings. 

She saw a flash across the moon and smiled. 

_I guess everyone's out tonight. But which one was that?_

Batman landed on the roof of the Gotham Radisson. It had one of the best views of the city, and Terry frequently used it as a vantage point when nothing much was going on. Tonight was not one of those nights, however. Not only was there this new Vengeance person hanging around, there was that Nightwing guy. Whoever he was. Whichever side he was on. 

_Oh well, Terry thought. __Until I know who he's fighting for, he's the enemy, all the same._

The figure appeared on the roof of what was now the Gotham City Police Department. 

_A lot's changed since I've been back, he thought as he first saw the new building. __But a lot's stayed the same. _

When Dick landed on top of the new roof, he saw a very familiar sight. _The Bat-signal. That sentimental old girl… as much as she hates Batman, this proves that she knows that she needs him. _

A lot of Dick's history could be traced using that old hunk of metal. Oh, the stories it could tell. He reminisced as he waited for the right time to intrude on Vengeance's makeshift center of operations. Dick smiled to think of some of the good times.

And then he remembered the last time he had seen the giant lamp. 

_"I don't even want to look at you right now."_

_ _

Those words echoed in his mind as if they had been said 20 minutes ago, not 20 years. 

It was his fault… he realized that. But she never should have expected him to really give it up. The cape and cowl were his lifeblood… she knew that.

_She knows I'm here by now. It's been all over the damn news. And she's not an idiot. I wonder how long it will take her to track me down, he thought with a slight smile._

But his smile faded as another thought occurred to him.

_What if she doesn't want to track me down?_

Barbara had spent half the day on the phone. First she had been on a crusade to contact someone in the Bludhaven Police Department, but they were all too busy to talk to her. Then, she called every hotel in the Gotham area, looking for a Dick Grayson or a Richard Grayson… but that was a dead end too. 

_Who are you kidding, Barbara? She asked herself numerous times that day. __You know its Dick… you saw the costume. Who else would it be?_

Barbara shook her head. "Come on, Babs… shake it off. This is just another case… just another day."

She was turning the corner onto Elm Avenue as she heard a report through her police radio.

"… reports of shooting and breaking glass… masked persons suspected… Fifth and Newton…"

A masked person… that was what she was looking for. Barbara turned the car around with a screech and headed toward the noise.

Batman picked up the report and was there in a flash, expecting to be the first one there. As he arrived, however, he realized that although he was there before the police had arrived, he hadn't managed to beat that Nightwing guy. 

"I'm giving you one chance, Sullivan. Go home."

_He bargaining with the criminal? Batman thought. __Now I know this guy's no good._

"NO!" Vengeance roared. "There is no Sullivan… only Vengeance! My business must be finished."

"Then your business is my business, buddy," Nightwing growled as he charged Vengeance. The large man deftly fought Nightwing's blows and came back attacking full force. Nightwing was getting a good beating as Batman threw down some tear gas, hoping to distract Vengeance.

Nightwing began coughing and backed away as Vengeance simply lowered his mask and exited the building under the cover that Batman had just given him. Batman flew down, trying to find Vengeance as Nightwing grabbed him from behind and threw him down. 

"Stupid kid," Nightwing spat out at him, as he turned away.

Batman growled softly. _Who in the hell does this guy think he is? "Cocky son of a…" he started as he sprang up and lunged for the elder man. As if he had eyes in the back of his head, Nightwing kicked a leg back, knocking Batman off of his feet. While Batman fell to the floor, Nightwing stood over him. _

"I'm not going to tell you this again kid… _Don't get in my way."_

"This is my town. I'm going to _be in your way." Batman narrowed his eyes at the stranger._

Nightwing laughed. "You're not fooling anyone, kid, except maybe these new punks you deal with. If you ever went up against the real psychos… against the people the _real Batman put away, you'd be worm food in five seconds flat." Nightwing heard sirens coming. __Shit… that's probably Barbara. I can't let her see me here. He stepped away from the kid. "Go back and tell your boss to have you sit this one out. Because if you get in my way one more time, and someone gets hurt from it, so help me God, I will take you out of the scene permanently."_

And with that, Nightwing used his grappling hook again and exited through the ceiling just as Commissioner Barbara Gordon entered alone, weapon brandished. Batman started to make his way out, trying to go undetected, but Gordon spotted him. 

"Hold it right there, Batman."

He stopped, holding his jaw tight as she walked over to him. "Vengeance was here, wasn't he?"

Batman nodded. 

"And so was the other one?"

Batman nodded again. 

"He say his name this time?"

Batman didn't move.

"Talk to me, McGinnis. It's Nightwing, isn't it?"

Batman frowned. "You know who that is?"

"Damnit!" she cursed as she walked away. "I knew it. That son-of-a-bitch."

"Who is he, Commissioner? What's he doing here?"

"Nothing, McGinnis," she said sadly, shaking her head. "The best thing for you to do now is leave it alone. This is _my problem to deal with. Just stay out of it," she said as she walked away._

Batman sighed. _I feel like I'm five again and all the adults are discussing "adult" things that Terry can't know about. Geez._

Barbara returned to the apartment she shared with Sam Young late that night. She hoped that he would be asleep by then, but when she walked into their bedroom, there he was, sitting up in the bed, holding an envelope. 

"Someone came by and left this for you," he said, indicating the envelope.

She frowned and took it from him, heading out to the dining room table to read it. Sam stood from the bed and followed her. She opened the envelope and inside it found a file folder from the Bludhaven police department and a separate letter with her name on it. The file folder didn't give much interesting information, however, and she didn't want to open the letter in front of Sam. She turned to him after reading the information. "Who left this? Did he tell you who he was?"

Sam shook his head. "No… he dropped it off at the door."

She frowned and looked at the unopened letter. Sam sat down next to her and put his hand on hers. "What's going on Barbara? And don't say that it's just a hard case, because it's more than that. Do you want to talk to me, Barb? Do you want to tell me what this is about?"

Barbara looked into the eyes of her husband. _Yes, Sam… You know Batgirl? Well, I used to be her. Bruce… yeah, he was Batman and Dick… you know, the guy I'll never talk about was Robin. I was in love with Dick and he broke my heart… twice. And now he's back in town, I'm sure just to try and torment me. Oh, and you know those rumors that I had a fling with Bruce? Yeah, they're true too. Can I crush your illusions anymore? _How could she tell him that? She just shook her head sadly. 

"Nothing, Sam… it's nothing."

"Got a mission for ya, Max."

Maxine Gibson looked up from her computer to see her friend Terry McGinnis pulling a chair over and sitting next to her. "Is this a mission of the winged variety?" she asked, excited. She loved doing this kind of stuff.

"Yeah," she said, glancing around to make sure they were alone in the computer room. "Okay… you've seen the new lately, right?"

"Yeah… those two new guys who apparently keep kicking your ass?" She said with a smile.

Terry frowned. "Yeah. The one calls himself Vengeance and the other is Nightwing. All I could get out of the boss was that they were from Bludhaven."

Maxine was already typing in this information. "Yeah… Bludhaven. Nice place, but dirty, even though it's newer than Gotham. It's kind of like Gotham's Sister City," she commented as she typed. The typing stopped as something came up. "And apparently this Nightwing person is your long lost sister."

Terry's brows furrowed. "What do you mean?"

She summarized what she read on the screen. "Well, for about the past, oh thirty years, Nightwing's been the main enforcement vehicle for Bludhaven. He's picked up the trash that the PD dropped… kind of like Batman always did for Gotham. No one knows who he is."

"So this Nightwing is a _good_ guy?" Terry asked skeptically. "He seemed like a real jack off."

"And I'm sure you didn't to him…" Max pointed out.

Terry took that subtle sarcasm and ignored it. "The funny thing is… if I didn't know better, I would swear that this guy was Bruce. He fought just like Bruce taught me to. He acted like Bruce. Hell, he even talked like Bruce. And they seemed to know each other."

Max looked over at him. "How did they know each other?"

"Well… when I told Bruce that the guy's name was Nightwing, he kind of brushed away from the subject and avoided it. And that Nightwing guy would always say 'Well, you're not the Bat, kid.' And saying stuff about the 'real Batman.' Cocky guy, if you ask me."

Max sat back from the computer. "Well… like I said, Nightwing's been down in Bludhaven for thirty years. He probably modeled himself after the old Batman. And he would know that you're too young to be the old guy." She turned back to the computer and started typing. "Or maybe, Wayne's keeping secrets from you."

"What do you mean?" he asked, confused.

"Think about it Terry… have you really never heard the gossip about Wayne? From back in his playboy days? I mean, some people even say the he dated the Commissioner way back when. Like when her _dad_ was Commissioner. How else would she know that since you were working for him that you were Batman? And what about Robin? Did he ever tell you anything about Robin? Who he was or anything?"

Terry did think about it. "No… he doesn't talk really, he just kinda gives orders."

"Whoa… Check this out," Max commented looking at the screen. "Wayne's got no family, right?"

"Yeah, right," Terry said, nodding.

"Wrong," Max said as she started reading off the screen. "Bruce Wayne adopted a child, Dick Grayson, when Grayson was ten. His parents were circus performers, as was he, and they were killed by a… Tony Zucco… and get this… Zucco was taken down seven years later by Batman and Robin."

Terry shrugged. "So, it's a coincidence."

Max arched an eyebrow. "And I guess it's also a coincidence that this Dick Grayson currently is employed by the Bludhaven Police Department and has been for the past… here's a nice number… twenty six years."

Terry hung his head, thinking. _Wow… I can't believe that he never told me this… well… actually… yeah I can, but still…_ Then a thought occurred to him. "But there was a Robin in Gotham after that. There was a Robin until like twenty years ago."

Max nodded. "Well, we've got a foster child… Jason Todd, and a kid named Tim Drake, son of Jack Drake. Apparently Mr. Wayne was Tim's legal guardian after his father had a accident of some kind."

"That would explain the three different Robin suits in the 'cave," Terry muttered. _How stupid am I for never putting it together? _Terry grabbed his bag and patted Max on the shoulder. "I'll see you later. Got to go have a talk with someone."

Max spun around. "What do you mean? It's only 5th class…"

"Tell Dana I was sick… Thanks, Max."

"So… tell me about your son," Terry asked as he entered the Batcave about an hour later.

Bruce looked up from the computer screen for a moment, and then looked back down. "I have no son, you know that Terry…"

Terry sat down next to him. "Dick Grayson?"

Bruce's face dropped. "Who told you about him?"

Terry dropped the stack of newspaper clippings the he had found about Grayson. "I did a little detective work without you. He was Robin, wasn't he?"

Bruce nodded. He knew that he had hid the truth from Terry for long enough and that he could not lie to him now. "For a time – among others."

"Like Jason Todd? And Tim Drake?" Terry guessed.

Bruce nodded again. "You did good research, Terry."

Terry took a breath. He couldn't believe that he just got a compliment from Bruce. It was amazing. "So what does Grayson have to do with this Vengeance guy?" 

Bruce was about to open his mouth to answer, as a voice from the stairs cut him off. "Vengeance is a local psycho to Bludhaven, hence, when he decided to pay a visit to Gotham, naturally, Grayson had to follow him."

Terry stood there, waiting for a body to emerge with the voice. "How'd you get in? Shouldn't Ace have…?"

"Ace?" the voice replied as the dog came into view shortly before the person. "Who so you think trained this puppy here, huh? You wouldn't touch me, would you, Acey boy?" Grayson said as he petted the dog's neck.

Terry watched as Grayson walked down the stairs into the Batcave. He was about the same age as Commissioner Gordon, he guessed, with an impressive build for his age and only a hint of gray in his otherwise jet black hair. _So this is _the _Robin…_ Terry thought. _Wow. _

"Go back before she finds out you're here," Bruce commanded from behind.

Grayson halted, and then smiled, looking at Terry. "I'm back for 2 days and already he's ordering me around again. Geez." Dick turned back to Bruce and sat down across from him. "Besides, she already knows. She's not stupid, Bruce. I'm sure she knew after the first night I showed my face. And I doubt she's very happy about it."

Bruce shook his head. "Then why did you come here? We could have handled this."

Dick scoffed. "_I_ couldn't even handle this alone… you expect this cocky kid here to?"

Terry spoke up from behind. "This 'kid' can handle a lot more than you think."

The elder man stood up and looked Terry in the face. "Oh yeah, you really handled him last night and the night before. Listen, kid… I'm giving you this one chance. Stay out of this." He started walking away as he threw over his shoulder. "It's not your fight."

Terry watched Grayson walked up the stairs, and a moment later, saw Bruce follow him, walking faster than Terry thought he could.

Bruce Wayne stepped out of the clock that served as the entrance to the Batcave and bellowed after his adopted son, who was almost across the long foyer to the front door of Wayne Manor.

"Who did he hurt, Dick?"

At the door, Dick stopped, but he neither turned around nor said anything. Bruce continued to walk towards him. "This is personal, isn't it? Who is he?" He had reached Dick now, and put a hesitant hand on the young (well, now not-so-young) man's shoulder. "Who did he hurt?" Bruce asked softly.

Dick softly brushed Bruce's hand away, but still faced the door. "Just keep your kid out of this. If he gets in my way again, I'm going to put him down."

With that, Dick opened the door and left. 

Bruce returned down the steps and went straight to his computer, brushing past Terry. "What are you looking for?" Terry asked.

Bruce, concentrating on the keyboard, answered. "Who Vengeance really is. Dick could never drop something personal. This person must have done something to him or someone around him."

Terry sat in silence, knowing that his question had been answered and that Bruce probably wasn't going to answer anymore. Not even one of the hundred that currently floated through his mind.

_Who is 'she'?_

_ _

_Why is Dick coming back to town such a big deal?_

_ _

_What did that comment about giving orders mean?_

_ _

_Why did he leave in the first place?_

_ _

_What is this Bruce Wayne really like?_

_ _

And he knew that these questions needed to be answered, and only be one person.

Dick Grayson.


End file.
